


Shelter

by greenery



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Dry Humping, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, M/M, Making Out, Painting, i mean this is leonardo we're talking about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:42:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenery/pseuds/greenery
Summary: Ezio and Leonardo haven't seen each other in quite a while. As it happens, they bump into each other in an abandoned barn in the middle of nowhere, seeking shelter from a rainstorm.Set during Brotherhood.





	Shelter

The rain had started falling not long after Leonardo had left Venice and it hadn’t stopped pouring down ever since. Although he had enjoyed the cooling at first, now, after the third day of being properly soaked through, he couldn’t help but feel increasingly frustrated. So far he had somehow managed to keep his documents and painting equipment dry by storing them deep down within the saddlebags, wrapped up in several layers of cloth, but only God knew how long this improvised water protection would last.

If only there existed a kind of waterproof fabric, something that would simply repel all sorts of liquids, like leather, but thinner and more flexible... His mind started to wander off and he spent all afternoon thinking about a solution, distracting himself from the pain in his thighs, which grew sorer and sorer due to the inevitable friction between a wet saddle and wet pants.

A sudden movement, or better: lack thereof, brought him back to reality. His horse had stopped moving. Leonardo gently patted its neck.

“What is it? Are you tired already? Or hungry?”

He groaned as he managed to heave himself, very, very slowly, off the horse’s back. _Dio_ , he had never felt this old and world-weary before. He inspected the dark horse closely. It looked miserable. Dirty and damp and frozen to the bone. Leonardo was sure the two of them gave a rather fitting pair. At least the rain had eased a bit, it was now no more than a silent drizzle and Leonardo tried to wipe some water from his overcoat and stretched his legs. His knees cracked audibly, followed by his back.

What an utterly stupid idea it had been to travel all the way to Roma in January. If only he didn’t need the money so desperately.

Through the misty air, he took a closer look at his surroundings. If he could convince the horse to walk a few more steps, they might as well search a place for the night. They were standing in the middle of a barren field, surrounded by rolling hills and some cypresses in the distance. Not a single house in sight. Except –yes, not too far away he could make out a building in the descending dawn. He took the horse’s reins and tried to guide it towards the shelter. The horse didn’t move an inch.

“ _Cazzo_ ,” Leonardo cursed silently. All he wanted to do was to lie down and eat something, maybe even dry his clothes by a fire. He wouldn’t let this stubborn horse ruin his well-deserved nighttime peace.

“Oh come on!” He pulled the reins more forcefully. “ _Andiamo!_ ”

It moved, at last. Slowly at first, and then faster when it sensed that a dry shelter and some dinner were in store for it as well. As they got closer to the house, Leonardo recognised that it must be a kind of barn or stable, for no lights were burning inside and there was no sign of any living being in the surrounding area.

He didn’t mind, he didn’t feel like talking anyway, didn’t feel like telling a stranger about his person and his plans again. All he wanted was some peace and quiet.

The door was stuck, probably not having been opened in years. He needed to lean his full body weight against the barn’s door until it gave in with a loud creaking sound.

He entered, followed closely by the horse, and in the twilight, he could make out some hay bales and loose piles of hay, which surrounded a rather large open space in the middle of the room. Perfect!

He closed the door, removed the horse’s saddle and harness, and, with the help of some stones and wood and lots of dry hay, started to build a small fire.

Blissfully, he undressed until he was only in his woollen pants and a cotton shirt. The rest of the drenched clothes were put by the fire to dry. While he fetched an only slightly damp blanket from one of the saddle bags, he suddenly remembered that someone had once told him the journey was the destination. That couldn’t be true. The destination was the destination. Or, at maximum, the relaxing breaks along the way.

He grabbed a half-eaten loaf of bread from another bag and as he finally settled down in front of the fire, he let out a relieved sigh that was answered with a content snort from the horse.

They stayed like this for a while, the horse munching old hay and Leonardo munching the dry bread as if it was the most delicious meal he had ever eaten.

As the evening went on, Leonardo noticed that the horse grew increasingly restless. It scratched the ground and set its ears back, close to the head. Leonardo got up and tried to calm it down by patting its neck and whispering silent reassurances, but to no avail.

Suddenly, he heard a scratching and thumping sound from the door. Although the rain had started to fall heavier again, he could still make the strange sounds out very clearly. It sounded as if someone was trying to open the door, and doing so quite violently.

“ _Merda!_ ” He ran over to his bags and rummaged through them in search for his dagger. He knew he’d put it in the dark green bag. Or was it the brown one? “ _Merdamerdamerda!_ ”

Finally he found what he was looking for, hidden beneath some sketching supplies, but as shiny and deadly as ever. Not that he had ever killed anyone with it, but it had opened up enough bodies for him to know that it worked.

He faced the door and held the dagger in front of him, hands shaking. Should he shout something intimidating? But what? He doubted that his voice sounded very intimidating right now.

“I’m armed!” He screamed, not sounding confident at all.

“So am I,” answered a deep voice from the other side of the door.

Leonardo couldn’t think of a clever reply, so he stayed silent and continued to stand his ground.

The intruder opened the door slowly at first, and then all at once. He entered the room swiftly and with a giant sword held up high. Although the reflections of the fire on the blade were hypnotising, it wasn’t the sword that caught Leonardo’s attention right away, and it wasn’t the brown leather boots or the man’s stern and mud-stained face either.

Leonardo would recognize these robes anywhere, anytime. They had once been white, radiant, almost royal, but now they looked brownish grey, filthy and soaked through, just like his own clothes.

He forced himself to focus his gaze on the man’s face. No doubt. The strong nose, the dark eyes beneath the all too familiar hood.

“Ezio?” He exclaimed in disbelief.

The man slowly lowered his sword and eyed Leonardo suspiciously from head to toe until finally a bright smile flashed across his face.

“Leonardo! _Dio mio_ , what a coincidence!”

Leonardo walked over to his old friend and embraced him tightly, ignoring the water that soaked through his just dried clothes immediately.

“There are no coincidences, _amico mio_ ,” he said, “but destiny works in mysterious ways.”

Ezio chuckled. “Coincidence, destiny, call it what you like. I am just glad to see you. This has been one hell of a day. Let me just get my horse.”

 

He left the barn and returned a few moments later with a beautiful, but equally soaked, black mare. While Ezio unsaddled his horse, Leonardo quickly shuffled his belongings together to make some room by the fire.

Maybe it was true after all, and the most unpleasant days could make for the most pleasant endings.

While Leonardo watched Ezio organising his bags and making sure the barn was a safe place for the night, he felt a sudden rush of joy deep down in his belly area. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed the assassin. He had missed their tipsy late night talks back in Venice, constructing new gear for him and his leathery and sweaty smell.

Leonardo attentively observed Ezio removing his armour, piece by piece, and afterwards his damp robes, until some pants and a shirt were the only things left. He spread the once-white robes next to the fire.

“It’ll be a nightmare to get these clean again,” he muttered.

“Oh, you’ve managed far worse,” Leonardo said, “remember that one mission in Venice? The one in the sewer? I have never seen so much blood and ... shit before. And don’t get me started on the smell.”

Ezio laughed wholeheartedly at the memory. “True. It took your housekeeper days to get it all nice and clean again. Never asked any questions, bless her. What is she up to?

“I have no idea. She hasn’t worked for me in quite a while. During the last few years I’ve grown quite fond of managing things myself.”

Ezio settled down opposite of Leonardo and gave him a curious look across the fire. “How come? And how have you not starved to death yet?”

“Independence is invaluable. And besides, I’m currently moving around a lot and being able to provide for myself has made everything much easier.”

 Ezio nodded slowly and stared into the fire.

 “So what are you doing here? Headed to Roma as well?” Leonardo asked.

 “ _Sí_. I was on an order mission near Parma. One of the last Borgia strongholds is situated there. Well, was. The brotherhood is now based in Roma. I’m going home.”

From the little smile on his face, Leonardo could see that Ezio enjoyed having a place to return to, with friends and family waiting for him, something he had been denied for most of his life. He felt genuinely happy for his friend.

“What about Rodrigo? And Cesare?”

“Their days are counted.  I have trained many new recruits over the past few months. The brotherhood is stronger than ever. They do not stand a chance.”

 Leonardo swallowed. Should he tell Ezio about his new job? Constructing war machines for the Borgia? To accept this offer had been the hardest decision of his life, but the Borgia didn’t give the impression of handling a rejection well and besides, he had been, and still was, in desperate need of some income and a small, dry workshop. Maybe he could even manage to get hold on some bodies... No, he could never tell Ezio about his intentions in Roma.

 “And you?” Ezio asked. “What brings you to the capital of the world?”

 Leonardo chuckled nervously. “Trust me, if I told you, you’d have to kill me. And I would very much prefer to see the light of day again.”

 To his surprise, Ezio seemed to accept this feeble excuse without any hesitation.

 “Well, in that case, we should enjoy ourselves while we’re still alive.” He got up and produced a small bottle of wine from one of his bags. “It’s not much, but it’s something. And better than nothing.”

 He offered the bottle to Leonardo, who took it gladly. Despite the fire, the air had grown chilly and maybe the wine could at least warm him up from the inside. He took a small sip and then a bigger one.

 “Thank God,” he sighed, “I haven’t had a single drop of wine in...” He counted the days in his head. “Almost a week now. Feels like forever.”

 He handed the bottle to Ezio, who raised his eyebrows. “Why is that?”

 Leonardo hesitated. “My financial situation has lately been somewhat shaky. Some rumours were spread in Venice and the number of job offers quickly declined.”

 “Oh,” Ezio said and Leonardo could feel that he wanted to know more details, but he was quicker. “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said simply and Ezio looked at him in surprise.

 “All right. What do you want to talk about?”

 What a question. Leonardo could think of a thousand things. Waterproof fabric, his improved flying machine, his recent paintings, his sketches, Ezio’s scarred hands and his kind, dark eyes. He stopped himself right there.

“Actually,” he said after some consideration, “would you mind if I sketched your hands?”

Ezio started to raise his hands slowly. “Not at all.”

“No, no, no,” Leonardo exclaimed quickly, “just like they were before.”

Ezio took a quick sip of wine and let his hands sink into his lap again. “Sure,” he shrugged, “go ahead.”

“Brilliant.” Leonardo got up to fetch his supplies. “The shine of the fire creates the most marvellous shadows. Constantly moving. I want to see if I can capture this effect.”

 Armed with one of his notebooks he sat down again and for a while the scratching of the quill and the crackling of the fire were the only sounds to be heard.

 

At some point, Ezio started to talk about his latest missions and Leonardo let him. Usually, he preferred silence while working, but Ezio’s bass voice didn’t distract him at all. If anything, it helped him to capture the character of his marked hands better.

After an hour or two he closed his notebook with a pleased sigh. He was quite content with how the sketches had turned out.

“Thank you,” he said to Ezio, “I think I rather like the results. And you are a very patient model.”

“Does that surprise you? I have quite a bit of experience by now. By the way, you’ve never shown the sketches from Venice to me.”

Leonardo could feel his already reddened cheeks blush even more as the memories came back. Many years ago in Venice, he had been in desperate search of a nude model. Being relatively unknown back then he had not able to offer a payment. After some convincing, Ezio, never in need of money, had volunteered and ever since Leonardo had kept the sketches from that night like a treasure.  After the first ice was broken, Ezio had sat for him many times, both nude and clothed.

“True. Unfortunately, I don’t have them with me right now,” he lied.

Ezio stretched his arms and yawned. “Too bad,” he said while he untied his hair, only to put it in a small bun. Leonardo couldn’t help but notice the lightness and ease of his movements. He was only seven years Ezio’s senior, but sometimes he felt as if his next birthday would be his seventieth.Years and years of crouching in front of a desk had made his back a wreck and his eyes tired.

Ezio seemed unbothered by Leonardo’s observation. He folded his cloak into a pillow and lay down on his side, facing Leonardo, who still sat on his blanket, notebook and quill in hand.

“I suppose we travel to Roma together from now on, _sí_?” Ezio asked.

“I do hope so, _vecchio amico_.”

“ _Bene_. Travelling is always more fun together. And God knows, I could use some fun.” He put one hand beneath his head and closed his eyes. “Good night, Leonardo.”

“Good night.” Leonardo hesitated. The air was clammy and he was freezing. “Ezio,” he said, “would you mind if I—“

Ezio opened his eyes again and Leonardo made a vague gesture into his direction. “It’s quite cold and I – well, I have a blanket,” he stammered and felt very stupid.

“Oh sure,” Ezio said, “you’re right, it is quite chilly.”

 

Leonardo grabbed the blanket, walked around the almost burnt down fire and settled down behind Ezio, placing the stained blanket on top of them both. Far apart as they lay, the blanket was too small for two grown men and didn’t nearly cover them completely.  Leonardo gathered all his courage and slowly shuffled closer to Ezio’s back, until his face was only inches away from the dark brown bun, held together by a red tie. Leonardo took a deep breath and indulged in Ezio’s smell. Admittedly, it wasn’t a very pleasant smell right now, dirt and sweat and dampness, but so, so good.

He focused on the back of Ezio’s neck. He realised that he wanted to put his mouth there, wanted to taste the salty, sensitive skin. The thought alone caused his blood to rush to his nether regions. _Dio_ , when had he become so desperate? He cursed his body for betraying him and moved backwards, but too late.

“Leonardo?” Ezio’s voice sounded coarse and sleepy.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t – I mean –“

“No,” Ezio simply replied, “go on.”

Leonardo couldn’t believe his ears. “What?”

“ _Continui_. Please.”

Leonardo needed a moment to collect his thoughts. He had dreamed of this for many years, countless scenarios in his head, stored away somewhere beneath his work, reserved for hot and lonely Venetian nights. This was the moment to make his fantasies come true. But he couldn’t do this as long as he wasn’t sure that Ezio wanted this, too.

He sat up, tossed the blanket away and swung one leg across Ezio’s body, settling down on his thighs.

Ezio looked at him through half-closed, heavy lids.

“If you don’t want this, that’s perfectly fine with me. I don’t want to –“

“Leonardo,” Ezio interrupted him again. “if I didn’t want this, would I lie here the way I do? I may not have been with many men, granted, but by now, I should now what I want and like. So please, _continui_.”

Leonardo was taken aback by this honest statement. Not in his wildest dreams he would have guessed. Ezio. Other men. He felt his confidence coming back, along with a ping of jealousy.

Without a warning, Ezio grabbed his hips and Leonardo leaned down until their noses bumped together. Both men couldn’t suppress a chuckle before Leonardo leaned back in for a kiss, this time managing to avoid Ezio’s nose. It was a bit rougher than he was used to, but Ezio’s lips were warm and welcoming. He parted them slightly and Leonardo let his tongue slide across Ezio’s scar before he pressed it against the roof of the his mouth and let it explore. He tasted wine, and something else entirely, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

They parted for a moment, breathing heavily and Leonardo couldn’t help but stare at Ezio’s beautiful face. He felt the sudden urge to paint him, again and again.

But Ezio was having none of this and grabbed him by the shoulders to pull him down again. His hands were all over Leonardo’s back and arse as he finally got to taste the saltiness of that gorgeous neck.

This was so much better than his dreams.

With some effort, he managed to pull Ezio’s shirt off and marvelled at the lean body beneath him. It was all muscle, broad and scarred and perfect, the chest heaving and sinking heavily, bathed in warm and flickering light.

Leonardo brought his head down to Ezio’s chest. He wanted to kiss every single scar.

Ezio’s back arched as the tiniest of moans escaped his throat.

Leonardo worked his way downwards, up to where the fine line of hairs on Ezio’s stomach started to grow thicker and thicker.

Ezio’s hands were now in Leonardo’s hair and to his surprise, he slowly guided the artists head towards his own again, desperate for another kiss. He held Leonardo’s head tight so he could kiss him harder. Their teeth clicked together and Leonardo had the impression that Ezio’s kiss-swollen lips met his with even more force than before.

While Leonardo rubbed his hands all over Ezio’s chest, he started rolling his hips, slowly at first and then faster. He balanced on his knees, ignoring the pain of several days in the saddle, and Ezio grabbed his hips again, stabilising him.

As they were grinding against each other, Leonardo could feel Ezio’s hard cock beneath him, could feel his heat through the two layers of fabric between them, and suddenly this, just this, was all he wanted, all he needed right now.

He continued rubbing himself against Ezio and Ezio responded by doing the same, although at a different pace, as if to maximise the friction.

Leonardo felt half mad. How could he do this to himself? How could Ezio do this? He wanted more, and at the same time he didn’t, he had never felt like this before.

He bent slightly forward, so that they could rub their cocks together, but this wasn’t enough, Leonardo wanted to be closer to Ezio, to feel his heat, to smell him, so he rested his elbows on the dusty floor, outside of Ezio’s arms, buried his hands in his hair and simply watched the assassin’s dark features, illuminated only by the dying fire, while he continued to grind on him, moaning quietly until he finally came with an almost gentle gasp.

It took Ezio a few more thrusts to find his own climax, but when he did, a shudder went through his whole body and the grip at Leonardo’s hips became almost painfully tight.

 

Leonardo collapsed onto Ezio’s rapidly moving chest, their hands now entwined on the floor next to Ezio’s head, before he rolled himself off of him.

They stayed like that for a while, laying side by side, panting, ignoring the dampness in their pants. Leonardo’s hoarse voice broke the silence.

“I’ve never done it like this before.”

Ezio was still facing the ceiling, hands folded across his chest. “Me neither.”

“It was good.”

Leonardo could see Ezio’s lips curving into the slightest of smiles. “Yes, it was. Very good.”

He turned towards Leonardo and rested his head on one hand. “I mean it. And trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Leonardo chuckled. “The pleasure was all mine.”

They looked at each other for a little longer, taking in each other’s features as if to save the sight for later. For the first time in his life, Leonardo wanted time to stand still.

When Ezio finally turned away from him to settle on his other side, Leonardo quickly got up to fetch the blanket again. His knees still felt a little shaky.

He snuggled up against Ezio’s broad back and spread the blanket out on top of them.

It fit just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
